Notably, one of those voting against the motion was wartime resistance fighter and Syriza MP Manolis Glezos, for reasons that were not immediately clear.

The motion to suspend funding had been backed by all parties, with the exception of Golden Dawn, at committee stage, on the grounds that the party operates as a criminal organisation.

The party's leader and a number of its MPs are currently facing court charges of operating as a criminal organisation.

Under old parliamentary rules, all parties elected to parliament are normally entitled to state support, in proportion to the number of seats they hold. In October, however, MPs voted to change procedures to halt payments to political parties whose leader or at least one-fifth of its MPs are charged with being members of a criminal organisation or involvement in "terrorist acts".

Based on its performance in the last election, Golden Dawn was allocated €873,000 in 2013, out of a total of €11m for elected parties.

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